Background Notes: Bangladesh
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Oct 15, 199010/15/90
Category: Country Data
Region: South Asia
Country: Bangladesh
Subject: Cultural Exchange, Resource Management,
Military Affairs, History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
Official Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
PROFILE
Geography
Area: 143,998 sq. km. (55,813 sq. mi., about the size of Wisconsin).
Cities: Capital-Dhaka (pop. 5 million). Other cities-Chittagong (1.8
million), Khulna (1.2 million), Rajshahi (700,000). Terrain: Mainly
flat alluvial plain, with hills in the north. Climate: Semitropical,
monsoon.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective-Bangladeshi(s). Population (1990):
112 million. Annual growth rate: 2.4%. Ethnic groups: Bengali
98%, tribals, non-Bengali Muslims. Religions: Muslim 85%; Hindu
14%; Christian, Buddhist, others 1%. Languages: Bangla (official,
also known as Bengali), English. Education (1985): Attendance-60%
(primary school), 20% (secondary school). Literacy-29% for males;
18% for females. Health: Infant mortality rate (1987)-11.3%. Life
expectancy-55 yrs. Work force (1987-88, 33.3 million).
Agriculture-59%. Industry-11%. Services-30%.
Government
Type: Presidential/parliamentary. Independence (in present form):
1971. Constitution: 1972 (as amended).
Branches: Executive-president, elected by popular vote;
(future vice presidents also will be elected by popular vote
according to recent constitutional amendment) prime minister
appointed by president. Legislative-unicameral parliament (300
members). Judicial-civil court system on British model.
Administrative subdivisions: Divisions, districts
subdistricts, unions, upazilas, villages.
Political parties: 30-40 active political parties; 4
represented in current parliament.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
Flag: Red circle on dark green field.
Economy
GDP (Bangladesh FY 1988-89): $20.2 billion. Real annual
growth rate (1988-89): 2.3%. Per capita GDP (BFY 1988-89): $180.
Natural resources: Natural gas, inexpensive labor.
Agriculture (43% of BFY 1988-89 GDP): Products-rice, jute,
tea, sugar, wheat. Land-cultivable area cropped at rate of 153%;
largely subsistence farming heavily dependent on monsoonal
rainfall.
Industry* (14% of BFY 1988-89 GDP): Types-jute goods,
garments, frozen shrimp and frog legs, textiles, fertilizer, sugar,
tea, leather, metal reprocessing, pharmaceuticals, newsprint.
Trade: Merchandise exports (BFY 1988-89)-$1.23 billion:
ready-made garments, jute goods, leather, frozen fish, shrimp, raw
jute, tea. Exports to US (1988)-$325 million. Merchandise imports
(BFY 1988-89)-$3.37 billion: capital goods, foodgrains, petroleum,
consumer goods, fertilizer, chemicals, vegetable oils, textiles.
Imports from US (1988)-$325 million. Net private transfers (BFY
1988-89)-$836 million (est.), primarily from Bangladeshi workers
in the Middle East.
Fiscal year: July 1 through June 30.
Official exchange rate: Taka 35= US$1.
Membership in International Organizations UN and many of its
specialized related agencies, including the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT), International Labor Organization (ILO), Universal
Postal Union (UPU), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International
Development Association (IDA), World Health Organization (WHO);
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Afro-Asia Peoples Solidarity
Organization; Colombo Plan; Commonwealth; ESCAP, Group of 77;
International Jute Organization (IJO), INTELSAT; Nonaligned
Movement (NAM); Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC);
South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
GEOGRAPHY
Bangladesh is a low-lying, riverine country located in South Asia
with a marshy jungle coastline of 600 kilometers (370 mi.) on the
northern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. Formed by a deltaic plain at
the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and
Meghna Rivers, as well as their tributaries, Bangladesh's alluvial
soil is extremely fertile but vulnerable to flood and drought. The
land is devoted largely to rice and jute cultivation, although other
crops such as wheat and tea are becoming increasingly important.
Hills rise above the plain only in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the
extreme southeast and the Sylhet District in the northeast.
Bordered on three sides by India, and on the east by about 193
kilometers (120 mi.) of Burma, Bangladesh's irregular border, some
2,400 kilometers long, is not based on any natural feature. Instead,
it represents a demarcation according to the political and communal
considerations of the 1947 partition of British India.
Located on the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladesh has a
semitropical monsoonal climate, with one of the world's highest
annual rainfalls, averaging as much as 215 centimeters (85 in.) in
the northeast. The average temperature is 29 C (84 F), with some
mild seasonal variation. East-west travel is impeded by river
courses, and since much of the country is partially submerged or
subject to flooding during the rainy season, travel can be difficult,
often requiring boats.
PEOPLE
Bangladesh, or "Bengal Nation," is the most densely populated
agricultural country in the world. With a per capita gross domestic
product of $180 (1987-88), it also is one of the poorest.
Bangladesh's 112 million people are concentrated in an area about
the size of Wisconsin. Its population growth rate currently is
estimated at 2.4% annually; a conservative estimate projects a
population of 141 million by the year 2000. At present, 40% of the
population is under 15 years of age. Although urbanization is
proceeding rapidly, some 85% of the people still live in rural areas,
and most are farmers. Estimates show that only 30% of the
population entering the labor force in the future will be absorbed
into agriculture, although many will likely find other kinds of work
in rural areas. The areas around the capital city, Dhaka, and around
Comilla are the most densely settled. The Sundarbans, an area of
thick tropical jungle inland from the coastline on the Bay of Bengal,
and the Chittagong Hill Tracts on the southeastern border with
Burma and India are the least densely populated.
Residents of Bangladesh, about 98% of whom are ethnic
Bengali and speak Bangla, are called Bangladeshis.
Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Muslims of Indian origin-
Assamese, those often referred to as "Biharis", (or stranded
Pakistanis) and various tribal groups, mostly in the Chittagong Hill
Tract, comprise the remainder. Most Bangladeshis (about 85%) are
Muslims, but Hindus constitute a sizable (14%) minority, including
those who work on tea estates. There also are a small number of
Buddhists, Christians, and animists. English is spoken in urban
areas and among the educated.
HISTORY
The area that now is Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural
past, the product of the repeated influx of varied peoples, bringing
with them the Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol/Mughul Arab, Persian,
Turkic, and West European cultures. About A.D. 1200, Muslim
invaders, under Sufi influence, supplanted previously existing Hindu
and Buddhist dynasties, resulting in the conversion of most of the
population of the eastern areas of Bengal to Islam and leaving a
strong Muslim minority in the areas of Bengal that currently are
part of India. Since then, Islam has played a crucial role in the
region's history and politics.
In the 16th century, Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul
Empire, and Dhaka, the seat of a Nawab, or the representative of the
emperor, gained some importance as a provincial center. Bengal,
however, especially the section east of the Brahmaputra, remained
a remote, difficult-to-govern region, outside the mainstream of
Mughul politics.
Portuguese traders and missionaries were the first Europeans
to reach Bengal, in the latter part of the 15th century. They were
followed by representatives of the Dutch, the French, and the
British East India Companies. By the end of the 17th century, the
British presence was centered on the trading "factories" along the
Hooghly River in Calcutta, but during the 18th and 19th centuries,
especially after the defeat of the French in 1757, the British
gradually extended commercial contacts and administrative control
beyond Calcutta, into the remainder of Bengal and northwesterly up
the Ganges River valley. In 1859, the British Crown replaced the
East India Company, and the British raj, still centered in the
Writers Building in Calcutta, extended all the way to the Indus River
in the west.
The late 19th century witnessed the rise of the nationalist
movement throughout British India, but this quickly gave birth to
mounting antagonisms between the vast Hindu and Muslim
communities, as each community gained confidence and sought a
solution to its nationalist aspirations most compatible with its
own vision of the future. In 1885, the All-India National Congress
was founded with mixed Indian and British membership, but by
1906, Muslims sought an organization of their own not dominated
by the Hindu majority, founding the All-India Muslim League in
Dhaka.
In 1909, at league urging, the British authorities provided
for separate electorates for the Hindu and Muslim communities
throughout British India. This period also saw the short-lived
division of Bengal into eastern and western sectors,
a move welcomed by many Muslims but opposed by many in the Hindu
community. This dispute and the 1911 reintegration of Bengal
contributed greatly to Bengali and Muslim political awareness.
The subsequent history of the nationalist movement was
characterized by periods of Hindu-Muslim cooperation as well as
communal antagonism and bloodshed, but communal tensions
hardened in the post-World War I period, following the introduction
of provincial-style governments under the Government of India Act
of 1919 and the adoption by the congress of its demand for self-
government in 1929. By the late 1930s the congress and the League
had become strong opposing political forces, even more so after the
abortive elections of 1937, which underscored to the Muslims that
self-government in a post-British India would relegate most
Muslims to Hindu domination. Philosophically, this led to the
development of the so-called "two-nation" theory, which held that
the Muslims of the subcontinent constituted another "nation" and
must have a homeland separate from that of the Hindus.
The formal political embodiment of this theory took place in
Lahore in 1940 when the All-India Muslim League passed a
resolution declaring that "the areas in which the Muslims are
numerically in the majority, as in the northwestern and eastern
zones of India, should be grouped to constitute independent states'
in which the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign."
The Muslin League, campaigning on a Pakistan platform, won the
majority of the Muslim seats contested in Bengal in the 1946
provincial elections. Widespread communal violence followed,
especially in Calcutta, and when British India was partitioned and
the independent dominions of India and Pakistan were created in
1947, Bengal was again divided. East Pakistan was carved from the
preponderantly Muslim east Bengal and the Sylhet District of
Assam, while predominantly Hindu western Bengal became the
Indian state of West Bengal. Extensive demographic and economic
dislocation followed.
Movement for Autonomy
Almost from the advent of independent Pakistan in 1947, frictions
developed between its two halves, east and west Pakistan, which
were separated by more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi.) of India
territory. The economic dislocation brought on by partition
accentuated economic grievances-real and apparent-and over time
these became a major cause of dissatisfaction in East Pakistan,
whose citizens felt exploited by the West Pakistan-dominated
central government in Karachi. East Pakistan was poorer than West
Pakistan, and a slower rate of economic development increased the
gap. Many East Pakistanis felt they had merely shifted colonial
rulers, contributing their jute earnings-Pakistan's primary hard-
currency earner-to the national exchequer but receiving little in
return. Government policies favored the west wing; the
concentration of the elite of the Pakistan Movement in West
Pakistan and the west wing's burgeoning economic opportunities,
moreover, focused the bulk of investment there.
Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic differences also were
important in the estrangement of East from West Pakistan.
Bengalis strongly resisted attempts to impose Urdu as the sole
official language of Pakistan. (Urdu, the language of Muslims of the
Gangetic heartland, was brought to West Pakistan by the leaders of
the Pakistan movement when they migrated from India after
partition in 1947; Urdu was not native to any region in what became
Pakistan.) Pro-Bengali sentiment, supported by a rich cultural and
literary heritage in Bengali and fanned into violence in pro-
Bengali/anti-Urdu demonstrations by university students in 1952,
played a key role in the growth of a new Bengali nationalism and
ensured Bengali co-equal status with Urdu as an official language of
the united country.
The failure of constitutional rule in East Pakistan in 1954,
the subsequent impositions of presidential rule there and later of
martial law in both wings, coupled with the subsequent decision to
transform the West Pakistan polity into one province-i.e., "one
unit," so as to balance out East Pakistan's provincial plurality (and
latent majority), added a political dimension to the growing sense
of estrangement in the east and of impatience in the west.
Even with national political leadership shared between East
and West Pakistanis, disparities between the two wings' shares of
representation in the military and civil services also caused
growing resentment and gave further impetus in the east to the
movement for provincial autonomy. As early as 1949, this
movement was reflected politically by the formation of the Awami
League, a party designed mainly to promote Bengali interests. After
Gen. Ayub Khan took control of the country in 1958, resentment
grew, as the nation's political leadership increasingly became
dominated not by the Urdu-speaking "muhajirs," who had led the
Pakistan movement and migrated to West Pakistan from India, but
rather by those who were Punjabi speakers and called West
Pakistan their traditional home.
In 1966, the president of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, who was known widely as "Mujib" and had emerged as
leader of the autonomy movement, was arrested for his political
activities. His six-point program providing for political and
economic autonomy for East Pakistan gained wide appeal in the east
but was rejected by most elements of West Pakistani opinion.
However, Bengali opinion coalesced around Mujib and his program in
the campaign against the policies of Ayub Khan's central
government.
As the campaign grew, violence mounted in East Pakistan, and
in 1969, faced with student unrest in West Pakistan as well, Ayub
Khan stepped down after 11 years in office. He was replaced by Gen.
Yahya Khan, former commander of East Pakistan's military garrison,
who vowed to return the nation to democratic civilian rule and to
draft a new constitution granting considerable autonomy to both the
east and west wings. In the 1970-71 elections, Mujib's Awami
League won more than 70% of the Bengali popular vote and 167 of
169 seats allotted to East Pakistan in the proposed 313-seat
National Assembly, which would sit alternately in the east and
west wings. It also won 288 of 300 seats in the planned East
Pakistan Assembly.
The unexpectedly strong showing of the Awami League jolted
the national leadership and was followed by negotiations among
political leaders in East and West Pakistan. However, the talks
were unable to bridge differences over fundamental constitutional
questions relating to the division of power between the central
government and the provinces, and on March 1, 1971, Yahya Khan
indefinitely postponed the pending National Assembly session. This
precipitated massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan, and when
efforts at negotiation failed anew, the army was called out to
suppress Bengali dissidence by force. Mujib was again arrested in
March; his party was banned, and most of his aides fled to India,
where they organized a provisional government. On March 26, 1971,
following the Pakistan army crackdown, Bengali nationalist
declared an independent People's Republic of Bangladesh. As open
fighting grew between the army and the Bengali Mukti Bahini
(freedom fighters), an estimated 10 million Bengalis, mainly
Hindus, sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West
Bengal; within East Pakistan itself, countless thousands more were
displaced.
The evolving crisis in East Pakistan, moreover, produced new
strains in Pakistan's troubled relations with India. The two nations
had fought a war in 1965, concentrated mainly in the west, but the
refugee pressure in India in the fall of 1971 produced new tensions
in the east, with Indian sympathies on the side of East Pakistan.
Despite appeals from third parties for restraint, open hostilities
erupted between Pakistani and Indian forces in November, and India
intervened on the side of the Bangladeshis. The battle was over in
less than a month, when, on December 16, 1971, Pakistani forces
surrendered and the new nation of Bangladesh was born.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The provisional government of the new nation was formed in Dhaka,
and when Mujib was released from detention in Pakistan in early
January 1972, it was reconstituted with Justice Abu Sayeed
Choudhury as president and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as prime
minister. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Mujib came to office with
immense personal popularity but had difficulty quickly
transforming this popular support into the political strength
necessary to function effectively as head of government. The new
constitution, which came into force in December 1972, created a
strong executive prime ministership, an independent judiciary, and
a unicameral legislature on a modified Westminster model; more
importantly, it enunciated as state policy the Awami League's four
basic principles-nationalism, secularism, socialism, and
democracy.
Parliamentary elections under the new constitution were first
held in March 1973, with the Awami League winning a massive
majority. The League continued as a mass movement, espousing the
cause that brought Bangladesh into being and representing disparate
and often incoherent elements under the banner of Bangla
nationalism. No other political party in Bangladesh's early years
was able to duplicate or challenge its broad-based appeal,
membership, or organizational strength.
Relying heavily on experienced civil servants and members of
the Awami League, the new Bangladesh Government focused on
relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of the country's war-
ravaged economy and society. Economic conditions remained
tenuous, however, and food and health difficulties continued to be
endemic. In December 1974, Mujib determined that continuing
economic deterioration and mounting civil disorder required strong
measures; he proclaimed a state of emergency and, a month later,
used his parliamentary majority to amend the constitution to limit
the powers of the legislative and judicial branches, to establish an
executive presidency, and to institute a one-party system. Calling
these changes the "Second Revolution," Mujib assumed the
presidency, and all political parties were dissolved except a single
new party, the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL),
which all members of parliament were obliged to join.
Despite some improvement in the economic situation during
the first half of 1975, implementation of promised political
reforms was slow, and criticism of government policies became
increasingly centered on Mujib. In August 1975, Mujib was
assassinated by mid-level army officers, and a new government,
headed by former Mujib associate Khandakar Moshtaque, was formed.
Successive military coups occurred on November 3 and 7, resulting
in the emergence of Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Chief of Army Staff, as
strongman. He pledged the army's support to the civilian
government headed by the president, Chief Justice Sayem. Acting at
Zia's behest, Sayem then promulgated martial law, naming himself
Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), instituting a council of
advisers to replace of the cabinet, dissolving parliament, and
promising new elections in 1977.
Ziaur Rahman Acting behind the scenes of the Martial Law
Administration, (MLA)
Ziaur Rahman sought to invigorate government policy and
administration. While continuing the ban on political parties, he
sought to revitalize the demoralized bureaucracy, to begin new
economic development programs, and to emphasize family planning.
In July 1976, the MLA permitted the reorganization of political
parties under strict government guidance, but before active
campaigning for the parliamentary elections scheduled for February
1977 could begin, elections were again postponed, purportedly
because of border troubles with India and the proliferation of
political parties.
In November 1976, Zia assumed the post of CMLA, and in April
1977 he further consolidated his authority by assuming the
presidency upon the retirement of President Sayem. He promised
national elections by December 1978. As president, Zia announced a
19-point program of economic reform, which subsequently received
an overwhelmingly favorable vote in a nationwide referendum.
Later that year, he began dismantling the MLA and, in early 1978,
met with various political leaders to form a broad-based political
front. In the June presidential elections, Zia was supported by a
coalition of centrist parties, with some support on the left as well.
His main opponent, retired Gen. Osmani, a former cabinet member
and commander of the Mukti Bahini in 1971, drew support from a
rival political front consisting of the Awami League and several
small leftist parties.
Benefiting from his reputation for vigorous leadership and
from public satisfaction with domestic stability and stable food
prices, Zia won a 5-year term in the June 1978 elections with 76%
of the vote. In November 1978, his government removed the
remaining restrictions on political parties activities and
encouraged opposition parties to participate in the pending
parliamentary elections. More than 30 parties vied in the
parliamentary elections of February 1979, but only four won a
significant number of seats. Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP) won 207 of the 300 elected seats.
This election marked the end of Zia's transformation of the
MLA to a democratically elected, constitutional government. The
constitution was again amended to provide for an executive prime
minister appointed by the president and responsible to a
parliamentary majority. The presidency retained considerable
emergency powers and continued to head the cabinet but was no
longer able to veto any bill passed by the parliament.
The Zia period came to a sudden end in Chittagong in May 1981
when he was assassinated by dissident elements of the military.
The attempted coup, which never spread beyond that city, failed,
and the major conspirators were either taken into custody or
killed. In accordance with the constitution, Vice President Justice
Abdus Sattar was sworn in as acting president. He declared a new
national emergency and called for election of a new president
within 6 months. In those election, held in November, Justice
Sattar, running as the BNP's candidate, was elected president,
defeating Awami League contender Kamal Hossain and several
others. President Sattar sought to follow the policies of his
predecessor and retained essentially the same cabinet; his
administration was ineffective, however, and the army resumed its
former role as arbiter of the nation's fortunes. After considerable
hesitation, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. H.M. Ershad, assumed
power in a bloodless coup in March 1982.
Hussain Mohammed Ershad Like his predecessors, Ershad
dissolved parliament, declared martial law, assumed the position of
CMLA, suspended the constitution, and banned political activity. As
reasons for the army takeover, he cited pervasive corruption,
ineffectual government, and economic mismanagement. Ershad
reaffirmed Bangladesh's moderate, nonaligned foreign policy and
said he aimed to cleanse the country of corruption, revitalize the
economy through increased private sector activity, decentralize and
streamline the bureaucracy, reform the legal system, and lay the
foundation for a return to democratic institutions.
In December 1983, Ershad assumed the presidency, while
retaining his positions as army chief and CMLA. During most of
1984, Ershad sought the opposition parties' agreement to
participate in a series of local elections leading up to national
polls. Because the opposition refused to participate in any election
while martial law remained in place, Ershad set aside previously
announced elections plans. Throughout the period, there was an ebb
and flow in the application of martial law regulations, as Ershad
sought a formula for elections while dealing with potential threats
to public order.
Unwilling to relax martial law until a new constitutional
system would be in place, Ershad attempted to move the electoral
process forward by seeking public support for his regime in a
national referendum on his leadership on March 21, 1985. He won
overwhelmingly, although the turnout was small. Two months later,
Ershad persevered in the face of opposition to hold elections for
upazila (country-like administrative units) council chairmen.
Progovernment candidates won a majority of the posts, setting in
motion the president's ambitious decentralization program.
Political life was further liberalized in late 1985 as Ershad
pursued his plan to hold national elections; and on January 1, 1986,
full political rights, including the right to hold large public rallies,
were restored. At the same time, the Jatiyo (People's) Party,
designed as Ershad's political vehicle for the transition from
martial law, was established.
New negotiations with opposition parties bore fruit when the
Awami League-led by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, daughter of the slain
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-agreed to take part in parliamentary
elections rescheduled for May. Although the Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP), led by President Zia's widow, Begum Khaleda Zia,
declined to participate, the agreement by the AL and a number of
other parties to campaign gave the process the credibility Ershad
had long sought. Elections were held on schedule. The 300 elected
seats of the National Assembly were filled, with the Jatiyo and its
allies winning a modest majority and the opposition electing 122
members-the most in Bangladesh's history-despite widespread
charges of voting irregularities, according to opposition leaders and
the foreign press.
The new National Assembly held a short session in July. The
Awami League and its allies boycotted the session in protest
against the alleged election irregularities and because martial law
was still then in effect. Following by-elections in August, and in
preparation for the scheduled presidential elections in October,
Ershad resigned as Chief of Army Staff and retired from military
service. Neither the BNP nor the AL put up an opposing candidate in
the October election-again because of the continuation of martial
law. Ershad easily outdistanced the remaining field of 11
candidates, taking 84% of the vote. Controversy again dogged the
event, with Ershad's government claiming a turnout of more than
50% and opposition leaders and much of the foreign press
estimating a far lower percentage and alleging new irregularities.
Ershad, however, continued his commitment to lift martial
law. On November 10, 1986, with the support of 30 appointive
seats reserved for women and a number of independents who joined
his ruling party, his government mustered the necessary two-thirds
majority in the National Assembly to amend the constitution and
confirm the previous actions of the martial law regime. The
amendment also held the leaders of that regime legally blameless
for their actions. Later the same day, the president lifted martial
law, after which the opposition parties took their elected seats in
the National Assembly.
In July 1987, however, after the government hastily pushed
through a controversial legislative bill to include military
representation on local administrative councils, the opposition
walked out of parliament in protest. Passage of this bill helped
spark an opposition movement that quickly gathered momentum and
that united Bangladesh's opposition parties for the first time. The
movement was aimed at forcing Ershad from office through popular
demonstrations and widespread street agitation. In October 1987,
the government began to arrest scores of opposition activists under
the Special Powers Act of 1974 after opposition plans to paralyze
the government with massive crowds became known. Despite these
arrests, the opposition parties continued to organize protest
marches, processions, rallies, and nationwide strikes. On November
27, 1987, Ershad declared a state of emergency. On December 6, he
dissolved Parliament following the resignation of one opposition
party and a vote by the Awami League Presidium to follow suit.
Citing constitutional imperative, Ershad scheduled new
parliamentary elections for March 3, 1988.
All major opposition parties refused government overtures to
participate in these elections and maintained that the government
was incapable of holding free and fair elections. Throughout this
politically tumultuous period, the most serious challenge to his
leadership of Bangladesh since assuming power, Ershad steadfastly
refused to accede to opposition demands that he resign. The
military backed him, and its continued support was critical to
Ershad's ability to withstand opposition pressures. Despite the
opposition boycott, the government proceeded with the March 3
polls. The ruling Jatiyo Party won 251 of the 300 seats; three other
political parties which did participate, as well as a number of
independent candidates, shared the remaining seats. On April 25,
1988, shortly after Ershad lifted the state of emergency,
Bangladesh's fourth parliament opened for its first session.
In the face of its failure to unseat Ershad, the opposition's
fragile unity showed increasing signs of strain. Political rivalries
and suspicions, never far from the surface, came increasingly to the
fore. In addition, the severity and unprecedented scope of the
floods that struck Bangladesh in the fall of 1988 served to distract
national attention away from political concerns. The floods
probably effectively quelled any opposition hopes to revive the
anti-Ershad movement during Bangladesh's traditional "political
season", i.e., the dry winter months. The government's well-
managed flood relief efforts and its ability to prevent mass
starvation through its food security system earned it, at least
short-term political benefits.
By early 1989, although there were no signs of a government-
opposition accommodation, the domestic political situation in the
country had quietened considerably. The parliament, while still
regarded by the opposition as an illegitimate body, held its sessions
as scheduled and passed a large number of legislative bills,
including, in June 1988, a controversial amendment making Islam
Bangladesh's state religion. Upazila elections held in March 1990
were observed by domestic and international observers and
generally considered to have been less violent and more free and
fair than previous elections. Presidential elections are due
between April and October 1991, and parliamentary elections are
due before March 1993.
Principal Government Officials
President (head of state) and Defense Minister-
Hussain Mohammad Ershad
Vice President-Moudud Ahmed Prime Minister-Kazi Zafar Ahmed
Foreign Minister-Anisul Islam Mahmud
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court-Shahabuddin
Ahmed Ambassador to the United States-A.H.S. Ataul Karim
Ambassador to the United Nations-A.H.G. Mohiudin
Bangladesh maintains an embassy in the United States at 2201
Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202-342-8372)
and a consulate general at the Bangladesh Mission to the United
Nations, 821 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-867-3434).
ECONOMY As one of the world's poorest and most densely populated
countries, Bangladesh must struggle constantly to produce
domestically and import from abroad enough food to feed its rapidly
increasing population. Its predominantly agricultural economy
depends heavily on an erratic monsoonal cycle, which leads to
periodic flooding and drought. Although improving, Bangladesh's
transportation, communications, and power infrastructure is poorly
developed. Except for an estimated 17 trillion cubic feet of proven
natural gas reserves (which meets two-thirds of Bangladesh's
commercial energy needs), coal reserves estimated at 250 million
metric tons in the northwest, and the possibility of oil reserves,
Bangladesh has virtually no mineral resources. Its industrial base
is weak, but unskilled labor is inexpensive and plentiful.
Following the climactic events of 1971, Bangladesh, with the
help of massive infusions of donor relief and development aid,
slowly began to turn its attention again to developing new
industrial capacity and rehabilitating its economy. The statist
economic model adopted by its early (Pakistani and Bangladeshi)
leadership, however, including the nationalization of the key jute
industry, had resulted in inefficiency and economic stagnation.
Beginning in 1975, the government gradually gave greater scope to
private sector participation in the economy, a pattern that has
continued. Included was the privatization of 32 state enterprises.
Rapid population growth, inefficiency in the public sector, and
restricted natural resources and capital, however, have continued to
dampen the economy.
Nonetheless, in the mid-1980s there were encouraging, if
halting, signs of progress. Economic policies aimed at encouraging
private enterprise and investment, denationalizing public industries
(including jute, textiles, and banking), reinstating budgetary
discipline, and liberalizing the import regime were accelerated. In
1985, the government also began a economic structural adjustment
program with the International Monetary Fund.
Currently, 650 public sector enterprises have been
denationalized, and only 40% of all industrial assets is still
publicly owned. Macroeconomic indicators began to respond
positively; in the last several years, real growth in gross domestic
product has been consistently more than 3.5% (except for years of
severe flooding); export oriented industries (garments, shrimp,)
developed in the private sector have become impressive success
stories; agricultural and industrial production has risen. Larger
donors, led by the World Bank, have supported the government's
policies to encourage these trends.
Agriculture
Most Bangladeshis earn their living directly or
indirectly from agriculture. Rice and jute are the primary crops,
wheat is assuming greater importance, and tea is grown in hilly
regions of the northeast. Because of Bangladesh's fertile soil and
normally ample water supply, rice can be grown and harvested three
times a year in many areas. Through better flood control and
irrigation measures, more intensive use of fertilizers and high-
yielding seed varieties, increased price incentives, and improved
distribution and rural credit networks, Bangladesh's labor-intensive
agricultural sector has achieved a pattern of steady increases in
foodgrain production, despite often unfavorable weather conditions.
Foodgrain output reached a record level of (16.5) million tons in
(1986), and almost that high again in 1987, despite a very serious
flood. Production for 1988-89 is expected to be about the same
despite another even more extensive flood. Even so, rice yields per
hectare are among the lowest in Asia.
Population pressure continues to put an immense burden on
productive capacity, confronting the government with a small but
seemingly chronic food deficit, especially of wheat, which must be
overcome through foreign assistance and commercial imports.
Slight variations in rainfall can mean the difference between
severe shortage and relative sufficiency. Moreover, jute, which
historically has accounted for the bulk of Bangladesh's export
receipts, faces an uncertain future due to competition from
synthetic substitutes. Fisheries, particularly shrimp, have become
increasingly more important sources of export earnings.
Underemployment remains a serious problem, and a growing
concern for Bangladesh's agricultural sector will be its ability to
absorb additional manpower. Finding alternative sources of
employment is a continuing challenge, particularly for the
increasing numbers of landless peasants who already account for
about half the rural labor force.
Industry Industrial development has been a priority for
successive Bangladesh governments. Although small, the industrial
sector contributes significantly to export receipts; it also provides
employment and a market for cash crops. Jute products-mainly
burlap sacking and carpet backing for export-and cotton textiles for
domestic consumption predominate. Production of ready-made
garments for export to the US market, begun in the early 1980's in
response to the imposition of quotas on major East and Southeast
Asian producers, has grown rapidly. Bangladesh is the fourth
largest supplier of cotton apparel to the United States and has
begun to diversify its garment exports away from the North
American market to the West European market. Shipbreaking, using
methods that are highly labor-intensive, has developed to the point
where it now meets most of Bangladesh's domestic steel needs.
Other industries include sugar, tea, leather goods, newsprint,
pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer production, which uses Bangladesh's
natural gas. The industrial (and foreign exchange) impact of the
discovery of modest reserves of oil in late 1986 remains to be
assessed; drilling has just recently begun.
The Ershad government has sought to increase industrial
growth by removing barriers to private sector participation in
economic development, providing incentives to domestic and foreign
private investors, and denationalizing public sector industrial units
and banks. Key to this change in policy was the denationalization of
about half of the public sector's jute looms, one-third of its cotton
textile looms, a number of other industrial units, and several banks.
In addition, several new private sector banks have been established.
The government continues to court foreign investment
assiduously. To this end, the United States and Bangladesh signed a
bilateral investment treaty in March 1986 that took effect July 25,
1989. Bangladesh also has established an export processing zone
(EPZ) in Chittagong and plans to create additional zones elsewhere
in the country. The Bangladesh Government has initiated a new,
more liberal overall investment policy, offering special incentives
to potential investors. In January 1989, the government
inaugurated a new Board of Investment to simplify approval and
start up procedures for Foreign Investors.
Aid and Trade
Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has received
more that $22.5 billion in grant aid and loan commitments from
foreign donors, about $15 billion of which has actually been
disbursed. Major donors include the World Bank, the Asian
Development Bank, the UN Development Program, the United States,
Japan, Saudi Arabia, and a number of West European countries. Aid
from communist countries is only about 4% of total aid pledged. As
of 1990, the United States has provided more than $3.97 billion in
food and development assistance to Bangladesh. Food aid under
Titles I, II, and III of PL-480 (Food for Peace) has been designed to
help Bangladesh meet minimum food requirements, promote food
production, and moderate fluctuation in consumer prices. Other US
development assistance emphasizes family planning and health,
agricultural development, and rural employment. The United States
works with other donors and the Bangladesh Government to avoid
duplication and ensure that resources are used to maximum benefit.
Bangladesh historically has run a large trade deficit,
approximately $1.5 billion in the past several years. This has been
financed largely through aid receipts. In fiscal year (FY) 1987-88,
the amount remitted back to Bangladesh from expatriates working
abroad, mainly in the Middle East, became Bangladesh's largest
source of foreign exchange earnings for the first time.
With the exception of 1988-89 when aircraft purchase made
the trade balance even, the US trade balance with Bangladesh has
been negative since 1986, due largely to mushrooming imports of
ready-made garments. Jute carpet backing is the other major US
import from Bangladesh. US exports to Bangladesh include wheat,
fertilizer, cotton, rice, communications equipment, aircraft, and
medical supplies, much of which is financed by the US Agency for
International Development.
DEFENSE
Bangladesh's 100,000-member army, composed of six light infantry
divisions, is modeled and organized along British regimental lines-
similar to other military forces on the subcontinent-and supported
by artillery and armored regiments. In addition to defense, the
army is an important backstop to civil authority. The bulk of the
weaponry in use-including tanks, fixed-wing aircraft, and naval
craft-originated in China. Officer training is conducted in
Bangladesh, with some advanced training in other countries,
including grant aid training in the United States. The senior officer
corps is composed of Bengali officers from the pre-1971 Pakistan
Army and of "freedom fighters" active in the struggle for
independence from Pakistan. The army forces are supplemented by
the Bangladesh Rifles, a lightly armed border security force led by
army officers, but falling under the authority of the Interior
Ministry. Bangladesh maintains a small air force with two fighter
squadrons, one attack squadron, and transport aircraft and
helicopters. The navy has four frigates, including a new Chinese-
built guided missile frigate, about 10 coastal patrol boats, and
several squadrons of torpedo and missile boats.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Bangladesh pursues a moderate, nonaligned foreign policy, similar
to many former colonial areas of the Third World. This places heavy
reliance on multinational diplomacy, especially at the United
Nations.
The government's initial post-independence foreign policy
objectives have been realized:
-- To secure recognition of the new state and government;
-- To obtain membership in important international
organizations; and
-- To enlist international support for relief, rehabilitation,
and economic development.
Bangladesh was admitted to the United Nations in 1974 and
was elected to the Security Council in 1978. Foreign Minister
Choudhury served as president of the 41st UN General Assembly in
fall 1986. Dhaka maintains an active round of participation in
international conferences, especially those dealing with population,
food, and development issues. In 1982-83, Bangladesh played a
constructive role as chairman of the "Group of 77," an informal
association encompassing most of the world's developing nations.
In 1983, Dhaka hosted the foreign ministers meeting of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Bangladesh has taken
a leading role in the group of 42 least developed countries.
Since 1975, Bangladesh has sought close relations with other
Islamic states, taking a leading role among moderate members of
the OIC. Dhaka also has sought friendly relations with the like-
minded nations of the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN). The government also pursued with vigor and skill the
expansion of cooperation among the nations of South Asia, bringing
the process-originally an initiative of former President Ziaur
Rahman- through its earliest, most tentative stages to the formal
inauguration of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) at a summit gathering of South Asian leaders in Dhaka in
December 1985.
Relations With Neighbors and Other South Asian Nations
India.
India is Bangladesh's most important neighbor; geographic, cultural,
historic, and commercial ties are strong, and both countries
recognize the importance of good relations. During and immediately
after the Bangladesh independence struggle in 1971, India supported
the East Bengali nationalists, assisted refugees from East Pakistan,
intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of
Bangladesh, and furnished relief and reconstruction aid.
Indo-Bangladesh relations have not been without strains. The
problem of record flooding in Bangladesh in 1987-88, a phenomenon
popularly believed by many Bangladeshis to originate largely in
India, has aggravated bilateral tensions. Other long-standing
contentious issues also remain to be resolved. Of importance has
been the equitable division of dry-season water on which both
countries' economies depend, as well as equally equitable resolution
of several thorny border demarcation issues. An earlier bilateral
water-sharing agreement for the Ganges River lapsed in 1988 and
has not been renewed. Both nations have, however, begun to
cooperate on the issue of flood warning and flood preparedness.
Discussions on the return to Bangladesh of tribal refugees who fled
into India beginning in 1986 to escape violence caused by an
insurgency in their homeland in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, continue
as well.
Pakistan. Bangladesh enjoys the warmest of relations with
Pakistan, despite the inauspicious early days of their relationship.
Landmarks in their reconciliation are:
-- An August 1973 agreement between India and Pakistan on
the repatriation of numerous individuals, including 90,000
Pakistani prisoners of war stranded as a result of the 1971
conflict;
-- A February 1974 accord by Dhaka and Islamabad on mutual
recognition (followed more than 2 years later by establishment of
formal diplomatic relations);
-- The organization by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
of an airlift that moved almost a quarter of a million Bengalis from
Pakistan to Bangladesh and non-Bengalis from Bangladesh to
Pakistan; and
-- Exchanges of high-level visits including a visit by Prime
Minister Bhutto to Bangladesh in 1989.
Still to be resolved are the division of assets from the pre-
1971 period and the status of more than 250,000 non-Bengali
Muslims (know as "Biharis") or "Stranded Pakistanis" remaining in
Bangladesh but seeking resettlement in Pakistan.
Other South Asian Countries. Bangladesh maintains close
friendly relations with Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and
strongly opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Dhaka played
an instrumental role in the establishment of SAARC, and at the
Bangalore summit in November 1986, a Bangladesh diplomat, Abul
Ahsan, was chosen the organization's first Secretary General.
Bilateral ties also are good with Burma, despite border strains near
the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Relations With Communist Countries USSR
The Soviet Union supported India's actions during the 1971 Indo-
Pakistan war, and Moscow was among the first to recognize
Bangladesh. The USSR initially contributed considerable relief and
rehabilitation aid to the new nation, especially assistance to clear
the Port of Chittagong. After Sheikh Mujib was assassinated and
replaced by military regimes, however, Soviet-Bangladesh relations
cooled; today, they are correct and friendly. As of May 1989, the
USSR ranked 14th among total aid donors to Bangladesh. The
Soviets have focused on the development of electrical power,
natural gas, and oil, and maintained active cultural relations with
Bangladesh. A showcase project financed by the Soviets is the
Ghorasal thermal power station, which if completed on schedule in
1995, will become Bangladesh's largest electric power station. In
recent years, Bangladesh and the Soviet Union have concluded
several barter trade agreements.
China. China traditionally has been more important than the
USSR to Bangladesh, even though China-as a loyal ally of Pakistan-
had supported Pakistan in 1971 and provides only one-third the aid
levels committed by the Soviet Union. But as Dhaka's relations with
Moscow (and Delhi) cooled following 1975, and as Dhaka and
Islamabad became reconciled, Beijing's relations with Dhaka grew
warmer. An exchange of diplomatic missions in February 1976
followed an accord on recognition in late 1975. And since that
time, relations have grown stronger, centering upon trade, cultural
activities, military and civilian aid, and exchanges of high-level
visits, beginning in January 1977 with President Zia's trip to
Beijing. The largest and most visible symbol of bilateral amity is
the Bangladesh-China "Friendship Bridge" completed in 1989, near
Dhaka.
US-BANGLADESH RELATIONS
Although the US relationship with Bangladesh was initially troubled
because of strong US ties with Pakistan, US-Bangladesh
friendship and support developed quickly. Currently, US-Bangladesh
relations are excellent, as demonstrated by the visits to
Washington in August 1980 by President Zia and in 1983, 1988, and
1990 by President Ershad and the June 1986 visit to Bangladesh of
US Ambassador to the UN Vernon Walters. US policies have focused
primarily on efforts to promote Bangladesh's economic development
and political progress.
The centerpiece of the bilateral relationship is a large US
economic aid program totaling about $135 million in 1989 (and
which from 1971 through 1989 provided more than $3 billion in
assistance). In addition to symbolizing longstanding American
humanitarian concern for the people of Bangladesh, US economic and
food aid programs, begun as emergency relief following the 1971
war, now concentrate on long- term development. These include
increasing agricultural production, providing new employment
opportunities, and helping to reduce population growth.
The US Embassy and a USAID Mission are in Dhaka. Frequent
official visitors to both capitals augment the work of their
diplomats in fostering more cooperative economic, commercial,
political, and cultural ties.
Principal US Officials
Ambassador-William B. Milam
Deputy Chief of Mission-Lee O. Coldren
Political Counselor-Stephen R. Snow
Economic/Commercial Counselor-Michael McNaull Administrative
Counselor-Kenneth Parent Consular Officer-Ruth Bright AID
Director-Mary Kilgour Public Affairs Officer-Ray Peppers Defense
Attache-LTC James A. Dunn Agricultural Attache-Daniel Conable
(Resident in New Delhi)
The Embassy and the USAID Mission, which moved in October
1988 from a downtown site, are now located in the Diplomatic
Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, G.P.O. Box 323, Dhaka (tel. 011-
880-2-884700, telex 642319 AEDKA BJ, telefax 880-2-883648).
The official workweek is Sunday through Thursday.
TRAVEL NOTES
Customs and immigration: US citizens traveling as tourists
do not need visas for stays of 14 days if they have an onward ticket.
Visas are required for longer visits and for business travelers.
Climate and clothing: Wear lightweight clothing for most of
the hot, wet period; medium weight clothing for the short winter
(Dec.-Feb.)
Health: Health and visa requirements change; check latest
information before traveling. Basic medical facilities are available
in Dhaka. Pharmacies can fill simple prescriptions. Tetanus,
typhoid, gamma globulin, and polio immunizations are recommended;
malaria supressants for travel outside of Dhaka also are
recommended.
Telecommunications: Internal and external telephone,
telegraph, telex, and mail services are available. Direct dialing is
possible to Western Europe and the United States. Bangladesh is 11
hours ahead of eastern standard time. Transportation: International
and domestic airline service is adequate; railroad service is
limited; road transport is crowded but adequate to most major
cities; river transport is extensive.
National holidays: Martyrs' Day, February 21; Independence Day,
March 26; Bengali New Year's Day, April 15; May Day, May 1; National
Integrity Day, November 7; Victory Day, December 16; Christmas
Day, December 25; Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, Muharram, Eid-i-Milad-
un-Nabi, and other religious holidays, varying in accordance with
the lunar calendar.
Further Information
These titles are provided as a general indication of the material
published on this country. The Department of State does not
endorse unofficial publications.
Ahmad, Nafis. A New Economic Geography
of
Bangladesh. New
Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1976.
Baxter, Craig. Bangladesh: A New Nation in an Old Setting.
Boulder: Westview Press, 1984.
Blanchet, Therese. Women, Pollution, and Marginality:
Meaning and Rituals of Birth in Rural Bangladesh. Dhaka: University
Press, 1984.
Faaland, Just. Aid and Influence: The Case of Bangladesh. New
York: St. Martin's Press, 1981.
Franda, Marcus. Bangladesh: The First Decade. Hanover:
Universities Field Service International, 1982.
O'Donnell, Charles. Bangladesh: Biography of a Muslim Nation.
Boulder: Westview Press, 1984.
Sobhan, Rehman. From AID Dependence to Self-Reliance.
Dhaka University Press, 1990.
Webbergren, Boyd and Charles Antholt. Agricultural
Development in Bangladesh: Prospects for the Future. Boulder:
Westview Press, 1984.
Available from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402: Department of the Army.
Bangladesh: A Country Study, 1989.
US Department of Commerce. Overseas Business Reports and
Foreign Economic Trends.
Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington,
DC -- October 1990 -- Editor: Juanita Adams Department of State
Publication 8698 Background Notes Series -- This material is in
the public domain and may be reprinted without permission;
citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the
Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402. (###)